Designing Wabi Sabi: Learning, Listening, and Building with Intention

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of working on a beautifully intentional project — redesigning the digital presence of a travel-based CLIENT. This has been more than just a design exercise; it’s been a deep dive into minimalism, storytelling, and precision-led design thinking.

Phase 1: Exploring the Narrative through Prototypes

To kick things off, I focused on storyboarding and UX mapping based on the initial discovery calls and creative direction shared by the CLIENT. They emphasized the need for a clean, immersive experience — something that gently guides users rather than overwhelming them.

With that in mind, I created three distinct prototypes in Framer, each built around the core values we discussed:

• A minimal and immersive scrolling experience

• Mobile responsiveness for a seamless experience across devices

• Integration-ready areas for blogs, CMS, and chatbot features

• A visual style that feels both serene and intelligent

To bring the idea to life visually, I used existing content from the current CLIENT website and filled in gaps using sample copy generated via ChatGPT. I also pulled in placeholder visuals from Freepik to help convey the direction. A short mobile app preview video was also shared to show how the design language might extend across platforms.

All of this was packaged neatly into a pitch deck, with direct links to each prototype and my thoughts behind the design decisions — making it easy for the CLIENT to review, mix and match components they liked, and share their thoughts.

Phase 2: Clarity, Precision, and Visual Discipline

The CLIENT’s feedback came in clear, thoughtful, and full of intention. They referenced TravelShift as a benchmark — a site that deeply resonated with them for its geometric layout, clean transitions, sharp typography, and seamless UX. Their notes reflected a desire for:

• A compact, dropdown-enabled navigation

• A single, neutral sans-serif typeface throughout

• A stronger visual rhythm with grid-aligned layouts and structured sections

• Smooth transitions for image elements

• UI components with no rounded edges or shadows

What stood out most to me was the emphasis on consistency, clarity, and timelessness — not just in visuals, but in how users should feel while navigating the brand. They weren’t looking for a trendy, high-motion experience. They were looking for something definitive — a digital home that represents the brand’s maturity and attention to detail.

I really appreciated the openness and transparency in the feedback. Instead of feeling restricted, I found it to be incredibly empowering. It helped narrow the design focus with precision and eliminate ambiguity — which is exactly what good design thrives on.

What’s Next: Evolving the Experience

I’ve already started implementing the feedback into the next prototype. The goal now is to bridge the creative exploration of Phase 1 with the refined, geometric structure of Phase 2. This includes:

• Building a stronger typographic system

• Establishing a solid visual hierarchy

• Cleaning up UI components to reflect sharp, structured design

• Aligning the navigation and layout more closely with the TravelShift reference

• Preparing a design system that feels unified across web and mobile

This project has been a fantastic learning opportunity — not only from a design perspective but also in understanding how deeply rooted brand values can and should inform UX decisions. The CLIENT project is shaping up to be something not just beautiful to look at, but thoughtful in every interaction.

I’m genuinely excited to move into the next phase and continue evolving this experience. And once we’ve solidified the foundation, I can’t wait to dive into the more interactive features — like AI-powered tools, personalized travel planners, and e-commerce integrations.

Thanks for following along — more updates coming soon.